Authorities confirm 4 dead in early morning Jersey City blaze

Four people -- all members of the same family -- died in the early morning blaze on Grant Avenue in Jersey City this morning, Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop confirmed this afternoon.

The Rev. Bishop William Pickett, 81, his wife, Elumae Pickett, 80, and two of their sons, Thomas Pickett, 52, and Curtis Pickett, 49, were trapped in 28 1/2 Grant Ave., a building that served as both their home and the church William Pickett led.

The blaze in a row of closely packed homes started roughly at 1 a.m. and damaged six residential buildings. At least 35 people were evacuated and many of them are staying at a temporary shelter at the Mary McLeod Bethune Life Center on Martin Luther King Drive.

The mayor also confirmed this afternoon that firefighters were initially dispatched to 27 Grand St., instead of 27 Grant Ave., 2.7 miles away.